Fractured by Sarah Fine

Title: Fractured (Sequel to Sanctum)
Author: Sarah Fine
Format I Read: Kindle
Pages: 357
Genres: Supernatural, Romance, Action
Release Date: October 29, 2013
Stars: 4
Goodreads Link

Okay so let me preface this with a reminder that I was in love with Sanctum. Truly in love with it. I thought it was absolutely amazing.

This one? Not so much. I still loved it, trust me; I absolutely love Malachi and Lela. However, in the real world, I felt like their relationship got a little shallow. What used to be so true and deep, now became petty in light of their high school drama. Both Lela and Malachi had other people interested in them. Which bothered me and I felt like it dirtied their relationship in a way.

I also didn't like a lot of Lela's choices. I understand that she was just stumbling her way through being Captain, but I felt like she wasn't the best leader. Especially with her motley crew. A lot of her decisions put them at risk; and she often let her emotions get in the way of her leadership. I did think she did relatively well considering the situation though.

And I did like the concept. I still think that the Mazikin concept is insanely fascinating and it didn't get old. As a reminder, for those of you who don't know, the Mazikin are creatures who possess bodies. And they summon the Mazikin "spirits" from their realm and put them into human bodies in this creepy ritual. And when the Mazikin gets put into a body, the body's soul gets put into the Mazikin realm. Which is apparently terrible and basically hell. So the Mazikin were originally in the Suicide afterlife from Sanctum, but then they were released into the real world. So Lela and Malachi are sent back to the world of the living (even though both are technically dead) to be part of the Living Division of Guards, meant to stop the Mazikin from multiplying and taking souls in the real world. So that's basically what it is. Plus Lela is back in school and has to put up with the aftermath of Nadia's suicide in real life.

Which I did like. I enjoyed the realistic side of it all--the non-supernatural part. With Lela working her way through life and adjusting to school without Nadia. And putting up with Nadia's old friends and building a friendship with previous Miss Bitch. And the problems of her past plus her new job. That she's a foster kid with a track record, meaning the police are monitoring her--a bit of a problem when you're wandering the city killing supernatural beings. But Diane is still on her side. I really liked all of that. It brought me back down to earth I think, when the Mazikin stuff got too deep.

But on to what I really want to talk about.<spoiler>MALACHI IS FREAKING GONE ARE YOU KIDDING ME THE ENTIRE BOOK I WAS LIKE YAY THEY'RE TOGETHER OKAY THEY'RE HAVING TROUBLE BUT IT'S OKAY AND THEN YOU FREAKING TAKE AWAY MALACHI AND MAKE HIM POSSESSED BY A MAZIKIN AND FREAKING JURI OF ALL PEOPLE HOW COULD YOU I'M SCARRED I'M DEAD I CAN'T HANDLE THIS HOW COULD YOU TAKE MALACHI AWAY I'M ABSOLUTELY SCARRED IT RUINED ME. I'm sorry that ending just really killed me inside because I was SO HAPPY with the ending of Sanctum. Because they were separated and then SURPRISE they ended up together! And this one was the opposite. They were together and then SURPRISE Malachi was freaking sent to Mazikin hell. It just really hurt and I can't wait for the next book because I need Lela and Malachi to be back together.</spoiler>

Now that I have that out of my system.
As much as the ending killed me, I still thought it was a great installment in the broad picture and plot/series. However, if you're weak in emotions, you may want to just stop with Sanctum before you get your heart ripped out of your chest with Fractured.

So though I loved it, it has to get a 4/5 from me, because it really hurt. It was superbly well done, but it painful because it made me very sad. Which I have a problem with, as a reader. But you may like it! It was a wonderful second installment--just left me really desperate for the third!

*I apologize for any rambling or confusion in this review; I read the book over winter break and never got around to reviewing it, so it may not be the best*